Style Ethics with Alicia Silverstone

“I have some guidelines when it comes to clothes, or anything really,” says Alicia Silverstone, celebrity authority on the vegan lifestyle. “First, I try to find it used so I’m not creating more waste. If I can’t find it used, I’ll make sure it’s made with an eco material. If I can’t find it in either of those categories, I’ll buy something regular. But I rarely have to do that.” Her no-waste philosophy is shared by Gregory Parkinson, who designed this dress made from recycled silk that’s hand-colored with environmentally friendly, water-soluble dyes.

Silverstone’s book, The Kind Diet, is a New York Times best seller; her blog, thekindlife.com, has become a forum to discuss everything from Umeboshi plum vinegar to the best places to buy leather-free sneakers. In the meantime, she’s found a comfortable balance as an actor, performing to rave reviews on Broadway (most recently in Donald Margulies’s Time Stands Still) and finding small but meaningful parts in films. This year, she’ll be back on the big screen in Vamps (reuniting her with Clueless director Amy Heckerling); Butter, alongside Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman; and Homework, a Sundance favorite in which she plays one of Emma Roberts’s teachers. There’s also her new role as mother-to-be (she’s due next month). As for baby gifts, she and musician husband Christopher Jarecki have asked for secondhand: “Something that was special to my friends when they were kids or special to their kids themselves.”